


You're the One I Need (Miraculous PV Story)

by Joeneauxvieve



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A FAIR AMOUNT OF ANGST, Art not mine belongs to Eden Daphne, Art used with Permission, F/M, Felix is not a hardass, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Going on Dates, Overwatch References, PV Universe setting, Playing video games, Protagonists are Oblivious, Shy Bridgette, Slow Burn-ish, Socially Awkward Felix, Whether that makes things funny or annoying is up to you, Will they Kiss?...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-06-06 12:15:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15194588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joeneauxvieve/pseuds/Joeneauxvieve
Summary: Felix is the holder of a deadly curse that no one deserves. He thinks Ladybug is the only one who can free him from it. Over time, another blue-eyed, black-haired girl managed to find her way into his heart. Unlike Ladybug, she loves him back.(Takes place in the Miraculous PV Universe)





	1. Found You

**Author's Note:**

> This will be a short fic based on the PV Universe of this show. I don't see a lot of fics with Bridgette and Felix as main characters, so I'd thought I'd make my own. Let me know what you think in the comments!
> 
> I have permission from Eden Daphne to use some of her art in this story. Links to the original Tumblr posts as well as her Tumblr page are in the closing notes.

Bridgette observed the mess she made in the kitchen. It would be a real pain in the neck to clean everything up, but she knew she had to do it tonight or else she'd never get to it. The clock on the wall read 21:34, and she knew it would take at least forty-five minutes to wash the dishes and utensils, put them in the electric sanitizer and wipe down the counter.

Despite the large amount of work ahead of her, she was still impressed with how the batch came out. She didn't know what types of chocolates Felix liked, so she made one of every type that came to her mind. She actually composed a list of 23 types, but decided to stop at 16 as that was the age he was turning tomorrow, though she highly doubted he would notice her. Well, he _was_ the most popular guy in school, the record for the least amount of gifts he's received ever received on his birthday at school alone was ten. _Ten!_ For Valentine's day, his record low was fifteen. Like typical Felix, he appeared appreciative of the gifts, but Bridgette could tell even from across the room, he only regarded it as mere fan mail. Everyone else fell for his façade, though. Bridgette was the only one who seemed to see right through it.

Maybe this keen talent for being able to read him like a book is what grew her to have a crush on him? The fact that she could see that he had a heart under the cold mask he wore 24/7?

No, she shouldn't think like that. This simply a small birthday gift that she would have done for anyone else. No romantic implications behind it at all...

Damn, this crush was getting out of hand.

But who was she kidding, she couldn't give these to him.

Bridgette reached for one of the small compost bags under the kitchen sink. She brought it up to scoop the chocolates into it, but before she could complete the action, her small red companion placed one of her tiny limbs on her hand. "Don't do it, Bree."

"Tikki, I can't do it. You've seen what happens every time I try to talk to him, I..." she trailed off and took a deep breath. "Chicken out."

"No, you don't 'chicken out', you're shy, there's a difference. While a bit of courage may help, you didn't back out out of cowardice."

"Of course you have to use logic on me, god Tikki," Bridgette teased with a playful wink. Tikki giggled lightly in response while following with "There's the sassy, confident Bridgette I know."

"Still... what if he doesn't like it? I mean, he doesn't even know me! He's going to think I'm some sort of stalker-"

"Bree-"

"And he'll never want to talk to me! I don't even know what food he likes! For all I know, he could be allergic to half the stuff in here-"

"Bridgette!" Tikki snapped. Bridgette fell silent. "You're going to be fine. Felix will be fine. This is the first grand gesture you've done for him. If I remember correctly, most if not all of the gifts he's gotten on Valentine's day were store-bought. Not even from your parent's bakery either!"

"And how would you know that?" Bridgette inquired with a playful tone and a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I can smell sweet foods from a mile away. I think I should be more surprised that you didn't know that by now."

It was Bridgette's turn to chuckle. "Touche."

Tikki tilted her head and flew closer to Bridgette's face. "So, are you still going to give him the sixteen different chocolates that took you two and a half hours to make?"

Bridgette tapped her chin, her signature habit when she was in deep thought. She glanced at the box containing her mini-creations then back at the kwami. "Yes, I suppose it would be a bigger waste to throw them out when you put it that way," she teased, clearly mocking Tikki whenever she lectured her. "But that won't stop me from making a list of what each chocolate is and where it is in the box. I don't want him to bite into peanut butter nougat while expecting salted caramel."

After Bridgette finished the list and placed the chocolates in the fridge for the night, she scurried over to the sink, turned on the faucet and began scrubbing vigorously.  
\----------------------------------------  
Felix laid back on his perfectly-maid bed in his perfectly-furnished room. He sighed as if he was dreading something, and of course, this didn't go unnoticed by the small cat-god who was currently relaxed on the large pillow next to Felix's head.

"What's got'cha down, kid?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kid, you've been stuck with me for a while now. I can read all of my chosens minds!"

"No you can't, Plagg."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

"If you could, you'd make everyone's lives even more chaotic. Mine especially."

"Says Monsieur 'I-Have-Everything-I-Could-Ever-Want-Because-I'm-Rich-And-Have-Every-Girl-At-School-Swooning-Over-Me."

"That's a very particularly elaborate surname."

"Since when did you use such big, fancy words?"

"If you could read minds, then you'd know and wouldn't be asking me that, would you?" Felix retorted. Plagg opened his mouth with the intent of firing back, but no words came out. The kwami admitted defeat. Felix snickered slightly.

"Seriously, though. What was with that sigh?"

"Birthday's tomorrow," Felix started while in the process of grabbing his favorite book from his bedside table. He flipped the worn paper-back book to the page he had marked and continued his  
thought. "Every year's the same. Anyone who either has a crush on me or want connections to my father bring me gifts. They somehow think that brownnosing their way into my and my father's business will help them. I guess they've never learned the 'do it out of the goodness of your heart' crap that every one learns in the first grade."

Plagg was about to reply when Felix cut in again. "Plus there's also the fact that I just hate school, period."

"Weren't you the one who begged Dear-Old-Dad to let you quit home schooling?"

"Well, yes, but anxiety is not easy to cope with! Thanks to being home schooled and not being allowed to have friends, I'm... well... you know the rest."

It was Plagg's turn to sigh. "No, no. I get it." His tiny green eyes lit up with mirth as an idea popped into his head. "What would you say to playing hooky tomorrow?"

"I can't."

"Why not?!" Plagg whined.

"Father would kill me."

The rest of the evening was pleasantly quiet as Felix finished reading 'Le Martien' for the third time since he bought it a few years back. Midnight struck, and Felix called on Plagg to transform him into his better half. He jumped out the large window of his bedroom and bounded across the Parisian rooftops until he made it to the Eiffel Tower. Finally, the moment he'd been looking forward to all day came at last. He checked to make sure the rose he picked up along the way was safely tucked in his belt before alerting his presence to his Lady.

* * *

Ladybug waited patiently from her perch on one of the Eiffel Tower railings. She scanned the city below her for her partner, but there was no sign of him anywhere. It was already fifteen minutes after they were supposed to meet. Even for Chat, it was unusual for him to be that late. Five minutes? Sure. Ten? Occasional, but pretty uncommon. Fifteen was a new record for him.

  
Before her worries escalated too much, her ears were greeted with the faint jingling of an all too familiar bell. She turned around and saw him step closer to her with drawn-out paces. He placed one hand behind his back and bowed. "Lovely evening isn't it, my Lady?" His long hair surrendered to gravity and fell out of where it was tucked behind his human ears.

"You're late."

"I believe the term is 'fashionably late', Bugaboo." He walked up to stand beside her and flashed her a flirtatious smile.

"I'm not your 'Bugaboo', now we have a patrol to start, and I have a big day tomorrow, so the sooner I get to sleep, the better."

"Then take the night off, Ladybug. I'll handle the scum of the city for tonight!"

"No, Chat. We're in this together. Besides, you can't purify Akumas. If one were to show up, we both have to be prepared."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, but look at how peaceful the skylights are. The chances of one of those ghastly beasts showing up is slim to n-"

As if on cue, a deep purple butterfly flew in between their faces and out into the night in search of its victim. Hawkmoth was taunting them, and they both knew it.

"Well, this is just great," Ladybug groaned in pure annoyance. She unfastened her yo-yo from her waist and began spinning it at a speed that rendered it a glowing pink blur that starkly contrasted the night sky. She wasted no time in following the butterfly which was invisible against the cloudless night. Ladybug may not be able to see it now, but surely Chat was more than capable of doing so.

"Chat! I lost its trail! Use your night-vision, I need you to be my eyes!"

Chat looked at the rose in his clawed grasp. It seemed perfectly fine when he plucked it on the way, but now a few petals were wilting and would fall off at any moment. He dropped the rose and used his staff to launch himself after his Lady. One way or another, he knew he had to get her to fall for him, but all he could do in the moment was to help her catch the butterfly before anyone else did.

* * *

Bridgette had a little less than an hour of sleep that night in total.

Screw Hawkmoth for making Akumas at 1:00.

Screw his Akumas that took four and a half hours to take down.

Screw her plan for the day needing her to wake up by 6:30... oh no...

Bridgette felt the adrenaline fill her body as she rushed to get ready as fast as possible. It only took her ten minutes to get ready today instead of the usual hour...

That's a new record!

She quickly grabbed a bag of berries to eat for breakfast on the way to school, being mindful not to stain the box containing Felix's gift.

She was just at the entrance to her first class when she remembered a vital detail missing from the package.

_"Crap! A card!"_

Bridgette scurried to the art room, conveniently placed on the other side of campus, and snatched one of the colored pens and construction paper sheets. She didn't pay attention to the colors she grabbed, but was pleasantly surprised when the colors seemed to go well together. The last thing she wanted to do was to give Felix the wrong idea about what the gift meant, so she decided that  
simplicity was the best option to go with in this case.

Bridgette promptly made it back to her first period and was relieved and anxious at the same time. Felix hadn't arrived yet, but his desk already had a small mountain of gifts on it. Hers was the only one that wasn't wrapped. It didn't even have a ribbon or a nice card! Hers was just plain. If she had any sliver of a chance to be noticed, it surely went down the drain, now.

When Bridgette noticed the him walk through the door, she placed the white box silently on his desk and scurried to her seat before Felix noticed. She could tell by the expression he held that he got barely any sleep either. The only word one could use to describe his expression right now was just flat-out 'grumpy'. The last thing she wanted to do was to agitate him further, so she decided that it would be best to stay out of his way... not that that would be a problem for her.

* * *

Felix was far less than amused when he took notice of the pile awaiting him at his desk. If there was one thing worse than the presents themselves, it was the follow-up questions of the senders who kept pestering him as they asked whether he'd seen the gifts they've given him or if he liked them. Quite honestly, it was a bit of a miracle that he hasn't had an anxiety attack from any of this, so that had to mean that he was doing something right, right?

There was no way he'd be able to find time to get through all of these at school, and he sure as hell wasn't going to take any home. He decided to open one for the time being, and reached for the one that caught his eye first. It stood out, that's for sure. Unlike the others, it wasn't wrapped, nor did it have a ribbon to tie it off. The card that went with it was a folded half-sheet of lime-green construction paper, and the writing on the inside was very neat. The brief message said 'Happy Birthday, Felix! -Bridgette'. Nothing particularly off about it came to his attention yet. When he opened the box, he was greeted with a small piece of parchment that had words describing types of chocolate, with the names in an array of 4x4. That was the same array the 16 chocolates were placed in in the box, so he figured that the list told him where each piece was.

He decided not to have one yet, but he silently slipped the box in his bag. He wasn't too worried about Plagg ripping through the box of chocolates, as a fair amount of them were fruit-related in some way, and Plagg despised all fruits, sweet and sour.

That would make this the first gift he received at school the first one he took home. Ever.

The bell rang, and Physics 101 began.

The question that rang through his mind as the class instructor took role was 'Who is Bridgette?'. Felix could remember faces perfectly, but names never seemed to stick in his brain. When he heard 'Agreste' be called in question to whether he was in the class, Felix responded "Present".

He briefly observed the students of the rest of the class. He was in the front, so everyone noticed him turn around to look around. He knew this 'Bridgette' character had to be a female, but the vast majority of this class was made of females, so that didn't help him much.

"Alright class, I finished grading your quizzes from the week before. Some did phenomenally, some did decently, and the rest of you may want to consider retaking the test either tomorrow or the day after," the teacher stated.

The method the teacher had for students to help each other is to hand the student's a test that isn't theirs, and to place three notes in the margins that either compliment the information the student put down or provide feedback on how to improve it. The test Felix received had the name 'Bridgette Cheng' written in the upper corner, and the penmanship was identical to the card he read. He knew her full name, now he had to figure out who she is.

After completing the teacher's given task, everyone rose from their seats to return the test to its rightful taker. Felix was scanning the crowd as he walked into it, accidentally running into a girl who was clearly on the more petite side, despite her long twin-tails holding up her black hair that seemed to be almost blue in the extreme lighting of the room.

"O-Oh, Um, S-sorry, I didn't mean t-to bump into you," she stuttered.

"Do you know who Bridgette Cheng is?" Felix asked, completely disregarding her apology.

"T-That's me," she stuttered again. So Bridgette was a shy girl, huh? Not quite what Felix was expecting.

"I have your test. You need to memorize your formulas better," he said bluntly.

"A-Alright, thank you," her voice became a whisper as she headed for her seat, but even with her head hung low, the light shade of rosy pink that decorated her cheeks didn't go unnoticed by Felix.

He chuckled inwardly for a reason he couldn't explain even if he wanted to. The only thing in that moment that he could think was _"Found you."_


	2. Thanks For Your Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say really. Just some Bridgette/Felix interactions, and an Akuma battle. (Yes, it's short, but I will go into much more detail in the next chapter.)

Ladybug leapt over the wide chasms between the tall buildings of downtown Paris with ease, and Chat was close behind her. As he watched her swing and jump with perfect grace, his mind was like a broken record, constantly reminding himself why he loved her so much.

She was his equal, but at the same time his polar opposite. She took every mission with the utmost professionalism, and executed every fight with unmatchable grace. He took every mission seriously, too, but She always seemed to have a witty quip locked and loaded to fire at him when he asked something of her or suggested a new strategy. Admittedly, Felix was more carefree while as Chat, and they both still spent time together outside of battle or patrol while in costume.

In fact, it was during those times that she had helped him the most. He had told her more personal things than anyone else he knew. She knew all the right things to say, and in the instances when she didn't know what to say, she always _did_ all the right things. Taking him into her embrace, letting him cry and talk as much as he needed until he felt better. All he's ever told her was only small pieces of information he was allowed to spill, it was still far more than he's said to anyone else.

He needed her just as much as she needed him.

After the small mob of thieves they encountered were apprehended and turned in to the authorities, Chat and Ladybug decided to relax for a few minutes on the Eiffel Tower before finishing up the last half-hour of their patrol.

"My Lady?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm..." Chat started, but when he tried to continue his thought, his vocal cords betrayed him. His tongue, lips and lungs refused to form words. This had to be the third time this month this has happened when he tried to tell her about... that.

"Chat, what's going on? I've told you, if you're not ready to talk abou-"

"What?! No! What I meant was I think we need to put together an emergency plan. Heck, maybe more," he quickly saved, keeping a deadpan expression and acted as if that was what he meant to say all along.

"Emergency plan? Chat, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, you know... um, what if one of us were Akumatized? O-Or if you were hurt to the point you detransformed-"

"Chat, where is this coming from?" she asked with concern in her voice. Chat had to admit, even for him that was a pretty bad cover-up. He was in too deep to back out now though, so he continued.

"If you were injured or rendered unconscious in battle and couldn't fight, we need to have a plan B. Every time I get hurt, your cure saves me, but if you couldn't fix anything, I need to know what to do."

Ladybug pondered this for a few moments. She grabbed her yoyo and using the digital screen, she sent a message to his baton. He glanced at it briefly before tilting his head in confusion.

"Coordinates?"

"Yeah. My kwami was telling me about a healer who can help both miraculous holders _and_ kwamis. If something that drastic were to happen, taking me to him would be probably the best course of action. The coordinates lead to his shop. The only other thing I know about him is that he goes by 'Master Fu'."

Chat relaxed considerably and put away his baton. "Master Fu. Got it."

"Chat, don't worry. I can assure you, things will never become that drastic. But if it makes you feel better, that is what you should do if that were to happen."

"Thank you, my Lady. You once again never fail to keep the city and my mind at peace."

Ladybug rolled her eyes as a small smile crept upon her lips. "You're a huge flirt, you know that, right?" she teased while standing up.

"Yes, you only mention it every other patrol, but I'm still _your_ flirt." A large grin immediately adorned Chat's face and his eyes held the same mischievous glimmer she knew all to well.

"No, you're just a silly kitty," Ladybug quipped.

"I'm still _your_ silly kitty just as you are _ma petit coccinelle,_ " he purred.

Ladybug shot him a look that Chat had never seen her express, but it screamed _'where did that come from'_ before her gaze softened. "Alright, take it easy, _minou_ ," she teased again.

Chat's face fell into a pout as he silently prayed that Ladybug couldn't see his blush.

"I'm not a kitten!" he half-shouted, but the damage had already been done. It felt like flames had been ignited under his cheeks, and his mask wasn't doing too much to hide it, either. Ladybug giggled before throwing her yo-yo to a nearby building and propelling herself into the city to wrap-up patrol for the night. Chat remained motionless for a little too long. She has never referred to him by any names other than 'Chat' and the occasional 'silly kitty' whenever they engaged in playful banter. Chat snapped out of his zone-out and quickly followed his Lady.

* * *

Later that night, as Felix snuck back into his room, he observed the white box on his desk. He walked towards it and took a closer look at the chocolates. Every piece was supposedly different according to the list that was taped to the under side of the lid. He could tell apart the white, milk and dark chocolates apart just by looking at them. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that each piece also had different garnishes on them, differing both in designs as well as colors. The realization hit him immediately that these were not bought from a manufacturer or imported from some exotic chocolate company founded in another country. No, these were hand-made. The fact that no piece was quite perfect, and each design was unique to the type of chocolate it was proved that these were made by human hands. Someone- well, Bridgette Cheng- put in time and effort to create sixteen little... he couldn't think of any other way to describe them other than 'masterpieces'.

Felix's heart warmed a little at the thought.

This was too much. It was too nice to come from someone who he barely knew beyond what her name was and what she looked like. Despite this, she still made all of these for him.

Maybe he should do something for her in return? Something that showed his gratitude? It didn't feel right for him to not return the gesture somehow.

Strange, he never felt the urge to return favors like this before. Why hasn't he felt like this towards the senders of his other gifts?

Whatever, it wasn't important. He had to figure out something. An act of kindness for an act of kindness. Nothing more.

His mind was void of good ideas. He couldn't think of anything that didn't involve spending a lot of money or persuading his father for favors.. Maybe if he went to sleep now, he's think of something in the morning.

Of course Plagg wasn't going to let him get off that easy.

"Hey, you gonna eat those or not? I'm starving and the cheese is gone."

"Wha-! Plagg! The shipment came in only three days ago! You've finished it already?!"

"I have a fast metabolism, kid. You know this."

"Yeah, but usually one of those lasts you two weeks!"

"But I'm hungryyy! I need to recharge!"

"Why are you always so hungry?!"

"Because all of your shameless, disgusting flirting wears me out! Now, I _might_ forgive you if you give me one of those chocolates!"

Felix groaned. Trying to reason with Plagg was often pointless. "Fine, which one do you want?"

"The cheesecake truffle."

"Of course you do." Felix handed Plagg the chocolate and the kwami zipped out of sight.

Felix looked at the list and considered trying one. It was 2:00, and he had to wake up by 7:00 to get ready for school. Eating chocolate probably wasn't something he should be doing right now...

Meh. His sleep schedule was already messed up enough with this super hero side job. Why the hell not?

Felix grabbed a random one from the box and popped it into his mouth.

The chocolate shell wasn't half-bad on it's own. It was a milk chocolate shell with some white chocolate garnishing in a dotted pattern. Not too sweet, bitter, or hard to bite into it. When bit down, his eyes widened slightly, unprepared for the blend of flavors that exploded in his mouth.

He instantly recognized the taste as lemon. It held the perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. The milk and white chocolate combined with the lemony center seemed like the perfect combination of everything from the taste to texture.

Okay, he _definitely_ needed to thank her somehow.

* * *

Bridgette massaged the bridge of her nose with two fingers. She didn't sleep well the previous night since Chat's words struck a chord with her. Sure, he brought up good points, and the hypothetical scenarios were certainly plausible. What really had her worried was the fact he would think of something like that. She still felt she did the right thing by telling him about Master Fu, despite going against Tikki's instructions to wait until Chat's kwami told him about the old healer.

When Tikki fell ill a few months ago, she told Bridgette to go to Master Fu, and he healed Tikki right up! The kwami also told her that if she was ever injured during a fight while as Ladybug, it would be best to go to him for help to avoid suspicion from the public. Bridgette was skeptical at these words, but she trusted her kwami with every fiber in her body.

If Bridgette was being honest with herself, she actually felt better telling Chat rather than keeping it from him. Even if it led her to have a twenty-minute lecture from Tikki before she went to bed.

Another thought that plagued her mind was what Chat was actually trying to tell her before he brought up the 'emergency back-up plan'. Clearly he was trying to tell her something, but either wouldn't or couldn't for some reason. She knew better than to pry for information, but she knew that bottling up emotions was far worse than letting them out.

As much as Bridgette wanted to keep thinking about ways to help her partner in crime-fighting, she had to focus on school for the moment. Right now, that meant studying up for her retake quiz in two days.

When she reached the school library, she removed all the materials she needed to prepare herself. She would glance at her test, decorated with red pen marks, look at the textbook and write in her note taking journal.

* * *

Across the room, Felix was in the process of another novel: 'Les Androïdes Rêvent-ils de Moutons Electriques?', but he couldn't find himself to concentrate as he took notice of two familiar, dark twin-tails across the room. He closed his book, and made his way over to the table she sat at without making a sound.

He pulled out the vacant chair across from her and sat down. She didn't seem to be phased by his presence, as she was still mesmerized by the items in front of her. From glancing at the marked paper and oversized text book to writing into a small journal, Felix immediately concluded that she was studying. He looked at the notes she was writing and... wow, her handwriting was _really_ pretty.

"That's not the definition of 'buoyancy'."

Bridgette jumped a little in her seat and made a cute, tiny 'eep' noise as she was brought back to reality from her... self-hypnotized studying?

"O-Oh, h-hi Felix!" she stammered. Felix could feel the panic rise in his chest. What was he thinking coming over here? No, wait, he could handle this. Just a quick 'thank you' and an offer to help her study for her quiz. She'd say no, and they go along their separate paths. How hard could that be?

"I had some of the chocolates you made. They were better than I expected," he started. Having said that out loud, he realized he probably should have thought out his words a little better. Otherwise, so far so good.

"Oh, really? U-um," Bridgette cleared her throat, getting more flushed by the second. "I-I'm glad you like them!"

They sat there silently, the awkward pause doing nothing to tame either of their rapidly beating hearts.

"S-so, what brings you here so early? Do you like sci-fi?" she asked having noticed the novel in his hand. Crap, why did she have to continue the conversation?!

Felix quickly retracted his arm, hiding the book under the table nonchalantly. "For an assignment," he lied. "I usually come to school early and spend time here. It's one of the only places where I don't have to worry about other people bothering me." Alright, that wasn't exactly a lie, but it still sounded a lot worse than he intended it to.

 _"You're supposed to be thanking her, not make her hate you! What the hell are you doing?"_ Felix mentally scolded himself.

"Y-Yeah, the library can be a nice place to relax. I-I just came here to study," Bridgette tapped the textbook with the eraser-end of her pencil.

"Ah, Madame Mendeleiev's quiz? Yeah, you didn't do very well on that." _"Felix, THINK!"_

Bridgette blushed harder. "Uh, yeah. Physics was never my forte." Perfect. Now she's embarrassed.

"I've always excelled in that classâ€¦" Felix trailed off and observed her expression. Her eyes held an emotion he couldn't quite place, but it certainly wasn't a positive one. Shock? No... Fear? God, he hoped not. He willed his face to remain deadpan and indifferent, but that was proving to be difficult very quickly, and his usage of words was sorely lacking in manners in general. "I could help you, you know."

"R-Really? I- We-... um... uh-"

"Do you want my help or not?" he spat. _"Mon Dieu"_ he thought exasperatedly.

Bridgette closed her partially open mouth before clearing her throat. "Y-Yeah, th-that would be great."

* * *

Felix has done countless improve scenes for his job in the past, each one with different scenarios and with his character having a different personality. How or why was this one any different? It should have been so _easy._ Why did he have to trip-up and be a jerk to her?

Still, they went over the questions they got wrong, and Felix told her where to find them in the textbook. Other than providing small hints for her here and there when she needed it, she was able to do the vast majority of it on her own with him telling her to keep trying in his own 'Felix' way.

The rest of the school day was pretty ordinary. Turning in homework, getting more homework, a few quizzes, new units and projects; stuff that happened on a fairly regular basis. The final bell rang, and Felix put his paintbrush in a small jar of water.

He cleaned up his work station and removed his paint-splattered apron. Nothing had gotten on his regular clothes (which would typically be considered 'too dressy' for school, but given his popularity, no one cared), so he took extra care when placing his brushes in the sink.

Felix had grabbed his stuff and was about to leave the room when the art teacher, Monsieur Lacroix, rose from his desk and said "Felix, can you to stay and clean up a bit today? My student teacher had a family matter and I have business to take care of elsewhere. I won't be long, and I'll take over when I get back."

Felix noticed that all that was left were some used brushes, pallets and some jars of colored water that needed to be picked up. He'd be done in five minutes tops, so he responded "Yeah, sure."

As soon and M. Lacroix left, Plagg emerged from Felix's book bag.

"Sooooooo... Bridgette..."

"What about her?"

"You completely made a fool of yourself in front of her this morning. It was hilarious!"

"Thank you for the reminder."

"My pleasure... So you're seeing her tomorrow, eh?"

"Well, technically, I see her every day... What are you implying?" Felix asked, having caught Plagg's teasing tone in the question.

"Oh, nothing!"

Felix said nothing and resumed his task. He turned on the faucet and began washing the brushed thoroughly. He was well aware of Plagg hovering over his shoulder, but payed him no mind.

"Psst... Hey, kid."

Felix didn't respond.

"Kid!" Plagg zipped to Felix's other shoulder.

"Felix!" Plagg was sure to get a reaction out of Felix by half-shouting directly in his ear, but Felix still didn't blink.

"FELIX!" He flew in front of his chosen's face and shouted at the top of his... lungs? Do kwamis have lungs? Regardless, Felix still didn't even flinch.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!" Having finally lost his patience, he flew to the shelves of paints and popped all of the caps on the plastic bottles. The mischievous little twerp them pushed every bottle off the shelf one-by-one. Finally, Felix turned around, his face expressing a combination of utter shock and horror.

"Plagg, what are you DOING?!"

* * *

Bridgette ran to the art room as fast as she could while trying to secure her second ponytail. She left her bag in there by accident, and she knew the trouble she'd be in for leaving Tikki unattended for so long. With any luck, the kwami would have been asleep the whole time or would forgive her after a few chocolate-chunk cookies.

She didn't even bother to change out of her bathing suit before coming, she just threw on her brown cardigan, denim shorts and flip-flops. She knew she smelled faintly of chlorine, but she would have plenty of time to shower off later.

Bridgette finally made it to the door of the room. As always, M. Lacroix placed any left items right at the doorway just inside the room. Bridgette reached in to grab it when her eye caught the huge mess in front of her...

Well, alright, the art room was never as clean as the rest of the classrooms due to the paints they used being near-impossible to get out of the floors, walls and peoples' clothes once it was dry. This, however was something else entirely. The worst part was, Felix was in the center of it all.

And he saw her, too.

Bridgette saw Felix crouched on the ground, trying to scoop and salvageable paint globs back into the bottles. It seemed he had already went through about four bottles, but there was well over twenty spilled on the ground. She could see the panic in his eyes. She was nearly speechless herself.

"W-What happened?!"

"I-I don't-... It's just- god damn it, HELP ME!"

Bridgette wasted no time in grabbing paper towels and wiping the small bits of paint that Filex hadn't managed to scoop. With every color he finished putting back, he told her which one so she could clean it up. They almost immediately fell into a system with no words exchanged between them. In less than two minutes, the rest of the bottles were picked up and placed back on the shelf in the proper order.

Bridgette felt something cool and wet trail down her stomach, and looked down to realize that she had gotten paint in her hair. The same 'eep' sound she made in the library that morning escaped her throat. Her eyes widened as the water dripping from her hair brought paint with it and stained the pastel pink suit with streaks of green, purple, black and a multitude of other mixed hues.

Felix took notice to and handed her a small pile of folded paper towels. She took them and instantly began rubbing herself clean but stopped when Felix told her "You need to get out of here. He'll come back any second."

With partially numb legs, Bridgette tried to stand from her kneeling position. She felt a strong hand grab her bicep and she was instantly on her feet. Felix let go of her arm and them pushed her out of the room, not enough to hurt her, but enough to get her to go faster. When she was out the door, all she heard was "Thanks for your help, Bridgette," before the door closed behind her.

Even though her eyes caught his face for only a split second, she could tell he was legitimately appreciative of the favor this time instead of usually faking it. Even though she knew she'd help Val if Val was in Felix's place just now, she couldn't help the small fluttering in her heart.

Tikki groggily levitated out of the bag and with a small yawn asked "Is school over yet?"

"Yeah, Tikki. It's over."

* * *

Felix finished cleaning just as M. Lacroix returned. Miraculously, Felix still had no paint on his clothes, with the exception of a few drops on his fingers and on the back of his hands. Felix exited the room and headed for home. The halls were empty, and it was safe for Plagg to fly out.

"Oh, come on, you never let me have fun!"

"That was _fun_ to you? Do you know how much trouble I would have been in if Bridgette hadn't come in?"

"Duh! You should have seen the look on your face when I dumped the paints! Imagine if you got caught!"

"Not. Funny."

"Yes it is!"

"Stop snickering."

"Never!"

Both instantly snapped into the right mindset as screams came from outside the school doors followed by the horrifying shrieking of something that wasn't human. Before Felix could bolt outside, the doors were blocked by a splatter of a black substance that was too hard to be liquid but not enough to be solid. It blocked out most of the light coming in through the windows, but Felix could barley manage to see a feminine figure with think, curly hair that came to her waist. A soft purple aura illuminated her face, allowing Felix to identifying her as Hawkmoth's latest victim.

The Akuma outstretched her hand and the same gooey substance that sealed the door sprayed out of her fingers. She pinned a handful of students to a nearby wall and examined them closely. When she was dissatisfied with whom she caught, she shrieked, and ran to another group of people while shrieking at the top of its lungs _._

"Plagg, take out all the security cameras in the school, we need-"

"Done."

Felix wanted to ask how Plagg managed that so quickly, but he had to focus on the situation at hand. "Claws out!"

* * *

Ladybug observed the Akuma from afar. Knowing Hawkmoth, he'd probably make the victim say some horrible puns that did nothing other than annoy her or cause Chat to retort back with a pun of his own. Ladybug used every trick she had to try to stop the Akuma as well as free the citizens trapped in its 'web'. Eventually, the Akuma ensnared Ladybug in the web before the superheroine had time to react. She watched as Chat battled the Akuma and manage to catch the corrupted butterfly, but she was helpless as the webbing held her arms and legs tight to her body and crawled upwards to her ears, removing the earrings in the process. She was pressed harder and harder into the wall. Her breathing slowed and her senses faded by the second until her body went completely limp.

Chat finally managed to neutralize the purple and black clad villainess, but watched in horror as magenta light emanating at Ladybug's feet and crawled up her legs... and continued crawling until her mask was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOOOOMM! Jumpin' right into it, baby! Screw slow burns! (Just kidding! I have nothing against slow burn stories, I just suck at writing them.)
> 
> Wait... *reads over chapter plans* oh shoot, nevermind, this is gonna be kind of a slow burn... Oh well, we'll see how this turns out!  
> I wanted to include the Akuma fight in this chapter, but it was too long. Don't worry, I'll include it in the next chapter along with some Miraculous-Swap humor! (#FelixBug) (#NotAHint)
> 
> No one asked this, but the book Felix was reading in the previous chapter was "The Martian" by Andy Weir. I plugged the title into Google Translate and that was what came up. I couldn't resist putting it in the story! The book he was reading in this chapter was "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". I apologize if the translations are wrong, but all I have is google translate (I know it's not the most reliable translation source) and I don't know a lick of French. If these or any translations in the future are incorrect, feel free to correct me in the reviews!
> 
> Also, I accidentally wrote 'Marinette' instead of 'Bridgette' like a bajillion times in this chapter and the last combined. If you see 'Mari' or 'Marinette' where it should say 'Bridgette' instead, please let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> A few things to know about this AU:
> 
> Bridgette can't sew to save her life. Her passion is chocolate-making, which is an ART, and is way harder than it looks. Believe me, I've tried, and failed. Miserably. It would definitely take more than 2.5 hours to make sixteen different types, but I like to think she's extremely skilled in that field.
> 
> 'Val' is essentially the Alya equivalent in this story (Bridgette's BFF). There will be another character in the next chapter that will be the Nino equivalent, and in case you're wondering, he and Val will be dating.
> 
> Felix is only grumpy when something happens that made him that way (like not getting enough sleep or something), but he always seems angry because he has social anxiety and almost zero people skills. He's self-conscious about this, and puts on a sort of "I give no shits" (metaphorical) mask, but is slowly learning to be more proactive and interactive with others, such as offering help when needed, or agreeing to help if someone asks him for it. When he tries to talk to almost anyone around his age or younger, he often can't or doesn't know how to handle his words or actions. He's spent most of his life around other adults, so it only makes sense to me to write his character to be this way.
> 
> As much as I love Adrien from the show, I find it a bit hard to believe how well he handled himself with Nino, Alya and Marinette in the origins episodes. Sure, most of his goofiness/awkwardness is shown when he's Chat, but still, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't happen in reality if he was homeschooled all his life and had no close friends his age outside of Chloe... Sorry, Zagtoon... :/
> 
> I know most of the fandom has deemed Bridgette as a bubbly, optimistic, love-struck teenage school girl with a sassy and sarcastic side while as Ladybug. I chose to make her shy in the start mostly for the sake of the story, but also partly because SHE'S MY BRAINCHILD! *deep breath*. As for Felix, I tried to make his mannerisms match what we actually know about the canon character- at least what would be canon if the show stayed an anime. (despite the info being very limited). (-_-)
> 
> Feedback/constructive criticism is much appreciated!!!


	3. Araña

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akuma fight ensues, Chat has to put on his lady's miraculous and Ladybug is completely fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love writing fight scenes! *evilly rubs hands together for no reason*
> 
> It's not as long as I hoped it was going to be, but since it's not the main focus of the chapter, it won't be very long. Mostly just Chat is racing the clock to take down the Akuma and rescue Ladybug.
> 
> Also, the previous writing styles of the chapter were me experimenting because I'm still fairly new to writing (compared to most other fic writers online at least). I tried it out, I didn't care for it all that much, so it didn't stick with me very well. I'm going to try to keep it up, but if the style changes at all (and it likely will), now you know why, and I apologize if it makes the story seem... unorganized.
> 
> Okay, now that that's off my chest. Enjoy the next installment!
> 
> Also, no art in this chapter. It's almost midnight for me and I'm tired. I'll add it in later as well as some MAJOR edits to this chapter.

Ladybug swung down on her yo-yo string and landed roughly ten feet of Araña. From behind, the identity of the Akuma was impossible to decipher, but when she turned around, Ladybug stilled at the sight of her best friend's transformation. How she came to be this upset or why Hawkmoth decided to grant her spider-themed powers was far beyond the superheroine, but the villainess wouldn't allow her time to think it over.

 _ **"Ah, come to join my web, Ladybug? I'm always looking for fresh meat to catch."**_  She said with a sadistic smile that bared her short fangs. The smiling turned to giggling which soon erupted into cackling.

"Val! Snap out of it! This isn't you! I know it's not!" The Akuma scowled in response.

_**"Ugh, so you do know me-"** _

"I know  _of_  you," Ladybug corrected. "You run the Ladyblog, everyone knows who you are!"

_**"Perhaps, but not as well as I know you! ..."** _

Araña outstretched her right arm and sheer webbing shot out of her fingertips. Ladybug spun her yo-yo faster and faster until it glowed and blocked the blow. Using the Akuma's attack against itself, Ladybug used the webbing to hurl Arana back-first into the nearby wall, causing it to crack slightly from the impact.

Instead of falling, Araña rolled over as if the brick wall was the ground itself and began to climb. "I know how you fight…"

Ladybug ran after her and jumped until her fingers grabbed the edge of the roof. She quickly pulled herself over and frantically searched for the black and purple villain from her watchpoint. She silently prayed that Chat would get there soon.

Screams of high and low pitches filled her ears from below as Araña shot venom to neutralize her victims from her right hand, pinning them to the wall with her left. She had also sealed many of the doors and windows along the nearby buildings, including the school. Once she had people caught in her webbing, she inspected each one of them individually as a neon purple butterfly-shaped mask hovered just in front of her eyes. When she was unsatisfied with the students for whatever reason she had, the webs that held the victims pinned to the wall would seemingly envelop them whole until they appeared to be pearly white sacks dangling from the walls. Perfect, she had psychological control over the webs as well. Ladybug almost didn't want to think about what the venom could do.

Not allowing her best friend to do these horrible deeds, albeit not consciously and against her will, Ladybug jumped down once again to confront the Akuma.

_**"I know your strategies."** _

Araña blinked and her eyes changed from being pitch black with near-microscopic ruby speckles to blood red. Everyone who was trapped by her web screamed for their lives as their faces began to become covered and their cries became muffled. Araña knew just as much as Ladybug they wouldn't be able to breathe. Ladybug's eyes widened and she gasped in horror.

_**"And above all, …your weaknesses."** _

Before Ladybug could react, she felt her back slam against cold stone. Her arms were fastened at her sides and her feet were several inches off the ground. When she tried to break loose from the sticky restraints, they only grew tighter until her limbs were completely numb. She felt her breaths become restricted, forcing her to gasp sharply to take air in. She could barely make out another black-clad figure with shoulder-length golden hair as her vision grew more and more fuzzy. Unlike the rest of the people whom Araña had ensnared, the cocoon of webbing that held her captive didn't cover her entire body. Her head was still exposed. The last thing she remembered before she slipped out of consciousness was a soft tugging at her earlobes.

* * *

Chat Noir had finally managed to sneak outside and confront the corrupted human in front of him. Now, he was able to get a good look at her. He could immediately tell it was the girl at the school who bragged non-stop about her "Ladyblog", her up-close-and-personal footage of nearly every Akuma fight, how many followers it had and her plans to get exclusive interviews with him and Ladybug. Although she had the same height, build, hair type and face as her, there were also drastic differences between her normal civilian self and being a victim of Hawkmoth's influence. For starters, her hair was definitely longer and far more voluminous in her villainized form. Instead of her typical light brown light brown locks stopping at the base of her neck, it was all pitch black and cascaded down to her waist. Her skin was dyed charcoal black and semi-lavender purple, as well.

That was about all Chat could process as he quickly saw the scene surrounding him, and fear rose in his chest when she hissed "And above all, your weaknesses," towards Ladybug.

Chat didn't even think. He lunged at Araña from behind and used his baton to knock her to the ground. She may have been neutralized for the moment, but she was still conscious. He wasted no time in pinning her wrists to her back, but the glimpse he caught of her sickening grin and Hawkmoth's insignia at her face told him that there was something drastic he was missing.

He finally noticed Ladybug held firmly to the wall in the same web-like material as the rest of the students, however her head wasn't covered. He left the Akuma on the ground and ran over to her, attempting to free her from her restraints. He soon realized his efforts were futile as the webs regenerated quicker than he was able to rip them away. Footsteps came up behind him at an all too quick pace, forcing him to turn towards the sound. His reflexes aided him in deflecting her approach before she could capture him, too.

The webbing moved upwards slowly and covered Ladybug's ears, and immediately, her feet were bathed in neon pink light.

It was a light he'd only seen a few times from around alley corners, but would instantly recognize anywhere. With a hard kick to the Akuma's chest and a hard swing of his baton to her back, Araña was on the ground, coughing and gasping and barely managing to hold her body over the ground greater than six inches. He ran over to his Lady after her de transformation. Her eyes were closed and her breaths were shallow. He refused to look down at her out of respect for her wishes to not reveal their identities to each other. He picked her earrings out of the webs before they were completely swallowed entirely. She had summoned no lucky charm, so no miraculous cure could be released. Scrambling for an idea on what to do, he heard hoarse words from Araña.

 _ **"I-I did it, H-Hawkmoth. Now we know…"**_  she huffed. Chat made his way back over to her. From his bird's-eye view of her, it was easy to spot the cursed object, despite it being buried deeply in the curls of her hair. Her headband charm was the same deep purple as every item Hawkmoth's butterflies possessed. He shucked the headband off the crown of her head and stored it in his pocket. He couldn't release it yet. He had no way, no Ladybug, to purify the innocent butterfly.

He glanced at the screen on his baton, memorized the coordinates she gave him the night before, and made his way there with Ladybug's limp body in his arms after calling off his own transformation, managing to conceal her identity from his view and any other leering eyes in the process.

* * *

Felix entered the quaint room in the secluded shop after quickly releasing his own transformation. This was where Ladybug had told him to go, but he didn't see anyone in there.

"Welcome, Chat Noir," a petite elderly man said. Felix was startled for a moment, but tightened his grip on the sleeping young woman in his arms to prevent from dropping her. Her head was pressed into his shoulder, face hidden from his view. He had no idea who he was holding onto so dearly, but he was determined to honor her request and his promise for keeping her identity safe, even from him.

"My name if Fu. You have no need to hide her face from me," the elderly man said. "Ladybug has visited me in this shop more than once in the past." Felix felt a bit stupid as he let the words sink in. It only made sense that he's seen what she looks like under the mask, it wasn't like there was much of a way to sneak in while transformed without being seen, since the only entrance and exit led directly to the street. It didn't cause him to relax any, though.

"Come, we don't have much time." He gestured for Felix to follow and the teen obliged. Fu led him to a brightly lit room in the back that was hidden from view of the customers. "Put her down here," he instructed, gesturing to the futon mattress in the center of the room. Felix did so, clamping his eyes shut as he set her head down gently on the soft material.

"Do you have it? The cursed item?"

Felix retrieved the elastic headband with the small charm from his pocket and handed it out to Fu, again while having his eyes closed. "Can you purify it?"

"No, my boy, that's where you come in."

Felix was puzzled at these words. "Excuse me?"

"I'm too old to wield these relics, Felix." Fu gestured to the pocket hidden his suit, having no subtlety of his knowledge that Ladybug's Miraculous was there. "You're going to have to put them on and cleanse the damage yourself."

Felix suppressed a frustrated sigh. "You're serious? Why can't-?"

"-You're the only one who can help her, considering the current condition she is in. Clearly she has been poisoned. I can attempt to counteract the damage it has tolled on her body, but it will take time."

"I can't-"

"You are fairly well known in this country with your surname being on nearly every magazine and newspaper. Not many don't know those earrings you wear in his movies are real. You are perfectly capable of putting them on, but I will need your ring first. We do not want anything extreme happening without both of you being prepared."

"That's not what I mean."

Felix removed his ring, ignoring Plagg's whines as he did so, and placed the red and black studded jewels through the almost healed-up piercings in his own ears. He inhaled deeply, about to mutter the magic-triggering phrase when he realized he forgot something important.

"What's your name?" he asked the floating red and black-spotted creature hovering in the air near Fu. She replied with "Tikki" in a very high pitched voice. Felix commanded her to transform him. He wasn't prepared for the warm breeze that overcame him as he donned his own version of his lady's supersuit. He found himself preferring it over the cold wave of air that occurred when he bonded with Plagg in the same way.

Curious, he looked down at the suit he was wearing. His hands definitely felt lighter without the claws on the end, and looked downwards to the rest of his body to observe the suit.

In the corner of his eye, however, he didn't see Ladybug lying on the mattress, he saw Bridgette.

Bridgette.

His shy classmate who still helped him when he snapped at her.

Bridgette.

His beautiful, benevolent, kind, sassy, kick-ass Lady.

He couldn't find his voice as he released the butterfly from its prison and set it free of the dark magic that consumed it.

* * *

Bridgette woke up with a start. Incense filled her nose and Tikki floating above her. Even through the fuzziness, the pure relief that flooded the Kwami's face was clear for her to decipher. She felt Tikki's tiny and soft head nuzzle her cheek as she sat up.

She recognized the room she was in all too well. Chinese characters along the walls. Paintings that told of stories forgotten by time. The small wooden furniture along the far wall with an old gramophone resting on top of it. The soft clicking of an opening door behind her and a short, elderly man stepped through. Master Fu.

"Ah, Bridgette, you've awoken," he shut the door as he spoke. "How are you feeling?"

As soon as he said this, she expected the pain to shoot through her body, but she had none. She was still donning faint strips of paint in her hair and on her swim suit. Her arms were free of scratches and bruises and scratches alike. There weren't even traces of scars.

"Wait, the miraculous cure-"

"I took care of it," Tikki said. "Well, Chat took care of it, actually. He… had to put on my miraculous to purify everything."

Bridgette mentally smiled as images of Chat in a ladybug-themed super-suit filled her mind. Before she could carry on much further, another realization struck her. The last thing she remembered was being trapped in Araña's clutches. "Wait, how did I get here?"

"How else?" Master Fu spoke. "Chat Noir brought you. Very smart on your part to tell him where to find me. I don't know how keen his Kwami would have been to disclose that information to him on his own."

Bridgette froze as fear crawled into her chest. "D-Does that mean… does he know who I am?"

Fu looked up from the kettle of tea he was preparing. "Yes, he saw you without the mask, but there was no way of being able to prevent him from knowing. However, I did not give him your name."

This made Bridgette's heart slow down a little, but not enough for comfort. "N-No one else knows, right?" she barely managed to say through silent tears.

"No, he's the only one besides myself, yourself and Tikki."

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is about as much as you'll get out of me for this chapter, my brain is like "Nah", and I can't argue with my brain. 
> 
> Next time! DATES! DATES! DATES! DATES FOR THESE OBLIVIOUS-ASS LOVEBIRDS!

**Author's Note:**

> Eden's Tumblr: http://edendaphne.tumblr.com
> 
> Art:
> 
> Felix: https://78.media.tumblr1809fa8d60bb1b02d06e0ae116f735f7/tumblr_p9qeyrDgGk1vtv4tfo2_1280.png
> 
> Chat!Felix: https://78.media.tumblr8c65ae2287fd6552dfbb8e770127dc1d/tumblr_p9qeyrDgGk1vtv4tfo1_1280.png


End file.
